Masteries

Offense:
21

Defense:
0

Utility:
9

NOTICE!

This is only my second guide and all the information I give you comes from experience in the game. I will also provide you with a small video-commentary about this champion, so please do not rate me negatively before you read it all and test the guide by yourselves. Please leave a comment and vote my guide. Any feedback, positive or negative is welcome and will help me improve.

Introduction

The Sheriff of Piltover is by far one of the strongest physical damage carrys of the game, and one of my favourite champions. She has pretty much everything a good carry needs, like insane range, great damage and escaping abilities. Unfortunately, good champions also need good players to be effective, so I decided to make this guide because lately I've seen a lot of people failing Caitlyn.
In the following guide, I will give you a detailed description of Caitlyn's build as well as some tips, tricks and strategies on how to play with her and own.

Pros/Cons

Pros:

Incredible range
Very high Physical damage
Nice harassment abilities
Ultimate gives certain kills if used cleverly
Good Escaping mechanisms
Very effective in teamfights when firing from a safe distance

Cons:

Extremelly Squishy
Her ultimate has too much channeling time and may miss
Is not very strong without her items
Easily targeted by enemy teams
Hard when playing against high-armor tanks or champions equipped with Thornmail(she can even kill herself on them).

Runes

MUST RUNES

greater glyph of replenishmentGreater quintessence of desolation

The runes I mostly use are Physical Damage, Attack Speed, some mana regeneration and armor penetration. Couldown reduction proved to be completely useless since in late game my normal attacks deal more damage than my ultimate and abilities. I wouldn't say the same for mana regeneration or though, since caitlyn is good at soloing and you will always appreciate getting your ultimate long before your enemy. I still prefer more damage for early domination and armor penetration to kill squishies with 2-3 hits. My main runes are still attack speed since my passive will work perfectly with them.

Masteries

I chose damage, attack speed and critical strike runes for two main reasons:
1) Caitlyn's passive gets more effective by getting more attack speed so that the +150% damage hits more frequently. Also, this kind of damage means 250% NOT of her normal damage but also COULD be of her critical strike as well, so associated with infinity edge's passive in late game she can get some awsome 1.5k hits doing 150% OF THE 250% of her normal damage!!
2) Caitlyn's abilities get stronger the more physical damage she does, so the more the better!

I also put a point in Exhaust (you will find it extremelly helpfull when chasing enemies) and ghost (the ultimate escaping and chasing spell!).

Summoner Spells

Right now, these are the spells I am using with Caitlyn. Exhaust helps me get some more hits on my target until he gets to enough low life for my ultimate to finish him off, reducing his armor at the same time. Ghost on the other hand, I mostly use it defencively after I have used my 3rd ability, to run away to safety.

Other choices:

I used to have this as a main spell. If you want to be a master of harassment and pushing in a lane your champion will be mana hungry really early. Using Clarity will help you stay in the lane longer and still be as offencive as in the beginning.

I never found it very usefull with caitlyn, since 90 Caliber Net does almost the same job. You might though need it some times when chasing or being chased in the jungle.

Never used it with Caitlyn, but if you are soloing and you want to recover in the spawn point you will be back in the lane soon enough for your absence to go unnoticed.

This spell would be very effective with other champions but after you get your ultimate it will be completely useless. Ignite is mostly used to get last hits in early game, but your ultimate does exactly the same job even better. You can still use it if you want.

Well, I never liked this spell, because there is other spells much more usefull than this. However, it can be used defencively to avoid incoming gangs when soloing midlane, as well as offencively, if a target is in low health but not in your visionary contact for you to use your ultimate. Just try put it within your ulimate's ranged and with a bit of luck you will get the kill. I still dont recommend it as a MUST.

Caitlyn is extremelly squishy and sometimes your net won't save you from dieing because an enemy like ashe has slowed you badly. Cleanse will help you remove that slow and run away again, but it won't help you much in teamfights.

DONT EVEN BOTHER LOOKING AT THESE SPELLS:

NONE of these spells will help you. Caitlyn isn't a jungler to need Smite, her items will make Heal useless, her damage doesn't need Rally to grow so little, Fortify should be better used by tanks and revive and Promote are completely useless when playing such an overpowered champion, not to mention that it's been proven multiple times in my experience that revive cannot help you in 95% of the time.

Skills

One of the most overpowered passive abilities in the game I would say! Caitlyn will fire a headshot every 4-8 attacks dealing 150% damage to an enemy champion or 250% damage to a minion. What does that mean? if you got bush around you, stay in there and fire, so that each attack counts as double giving you even more Headshots. If you are soloing mid, well just do the 7 first attacks and keep the 8th for the enemy. As soon as they see the damage you can deal with it, your passive will become a weapon of terror and eventually a nuke.
Try getting as much attack speed as possible so that this 150% damage occurs as frequently as possible.

Two words best describes this massive damage-dealing ability: INSANE RANGE! This is a tool of great harassment against any champion, tank or squishy. Try to raise its ranks as fast as you can and it will be doing some massive damage to them.
Use it a lot to get some nice nukes and hits but also try to use it as an AOE shot dealing damage to multiple minions. If you target is a champion make sure he is the first target your ability hits, or he will not really hurt by it.

This is a very nice scouting weapon and defencive tool. If you are soloing in midlane make sure you put one of those in each sidebush of the middle of the map, to protect you from incoming gangs. You can also use it to scout areas and bushes without risking your life.
Upgrade this ability last since you dont need the damage it does or anything that would improve (rather than the stun you might use for getting some kills later) by the ranks.

The best thing about Caitlyn is that not only does she do some awsome burst damage to her enemies, but she also has a very good defencive move. The net you shoot will hit the target slowing them for a second or two, knocking you back at the same time. This means you get a bit further and earn quite some time to run away from gangs or chasers.
Make sure you always have this ready. It will save you many times in matches. It can also be used offencively when you have another teammate with you. Use it to slow a target and let your teammate take care of him(very good ganging strategy). Remember that if your back is facing a small wall, the knockback will take you on its other side as if it were a flash, which can be very usefull if you fall into an ambush in the jungle.
Finally, if you are pulled into a fight, just use it to disengage and run away again.

Wow, are you serious? Caitlyn's ultimate is an insane distance nuke! You make a sure shot on your enemy which will deal massive damage and hopefully kill him.
At level 6, when you get this, make sure you have harassed your enemy targets long enough and got them to below 400 hp so that you use it instantly and get a kill without them having the time to even say "WTF?". Be carefull in late game: This ability does a whole loads of damage but do not underestimate your enemies armor. It's very usefull when in small gang-fights but in teamfights, better not try it because it will most of the time be blocked by another enemy. Use it on enemies fleeing the battle with low hp, to get some really nice kills.
Also be very carefull when using this ability. It has enough channeling time for the enemy team to target you, stun you and kill you before you even make that shot, so make sure you are behind teammates and in safe position.

Caitlyn's abilities consist of 2 offencive attacks of great range and 2 defencive tools that will save your butt in many occasions, meaning that the Sheriff is a very well-balanced champion. This results in an overpowered late-game nuker and will help you get some nice killing sprees, many times up to legendary. Make sure you use each ability wisely and cleverly and you won't have to worry about anything.

Items

Core:

Without dought, this is a great starting item. You need both the HP and the 3% life steal it gives you. The damage is of course welcome, especially if you want to be an early nuker and do a lot of harassment.

Since we want to enforce Caitlyn's passive, 25% more AS should be more than necessary in early game. These boots are easy to build, saving you some gold for potions as well.

This is one of the most important items you must have. Start building it immediately after your boots, because the more damage and lifesteal you have, the more survivability you will have, and the more chances to score a legendary before you are full in level. Many times I find myself buying two of these and ending up with too much damage even for a tank to handle.

The more attack speed, the better. This will also give you a lot of movement speed and will help you run away from fights easily. The critical chance will also help your damage to increase a lot.

Without this, you will be useless to your team. Caitlyn's abilities feed from damage so 75 additional damage to them is quite a lot. Try to build it before you get into late-game phase and you will be easily nuking any squishy champion who stands in your way.

Another MUST for your champion. You need the attack speed as much as its passive. 4% of the target's health is added to your damage, meaning that no matter what he is, even a tank, you will still be able to kill him.

Optional:

Caitlyn is a very squishy champion and what every squishy wants, is more hp. Baybve the 25+ damage doesnt seem very much, but the passive of slowing targets on hit will be very usefull when chasing them. Associated with your 90CN's slow it will nearly stun your hunters and give you some time to go back.

I can't say this is the ideal item for you, but if you find your self against a good tank and you can't afford buying more damage items, try this temporarily until you manage to sell it for something better. Besides, you still get some damage, and the armor penetration should be very helpfull in such cases.

This is the item every tank should fear of, including Rammus. Stack up your armor penetration on him and he is a dead champion. It can easily replace any of your core items since it still gives you enough attack speed and damage and helps you become extremelly deadly.

If you think you can handle "stackers" like this item, I would recommend it. By the time you hit 20 stacks, you will be unbeatable. You will love the slow and raising your damage to incredible rates!

This item has more than you need. It gives you attack speed, damage and critical strike, but also some cooldown reduction for your ulti and other abilities to be used more frequently. Additionaly, you might like its active, which gives you even MORE attack speed and some movement speed to initiate fights. Unfortunately for you, it works much better for melee champions so I would agree to the fact that you can easily replace it with Madred's Bloodrazor for better results.

I personally never use this, but if you ever like, it's not like you mustn't buy it. Your teammates will adore you for carrying it in the fights and you won't mind using it. However, in late game you should replace it with something stronger.

NEVER forget to buy those two in late game. They give you a nice bonus and make you as strong as it gets. If you have gold to spare, you can also benefit from 's cooldown reduction.

Early Game

When you spawn, grab your Doran's Blade and go for mid lane. If a fellow teammate wants to take your place, it's okay, just get another lane. Start harassing your opponent(s) with PP and your passive. If you are in top or bottom lane try to shoot from inside the bush so that you get more Headshots in less time. Make sure you get your enemies to low hp by the time you get your ultimate. You don't have to do any turret dives and stuff until then, just harass and stay behind. When you get your AitW try to use it immediately to get a kill. Use your traps to "block" your backdoor or flanks from possible gangs and be very carefull about using your 90CN. Try to have it available to help your teammates or your self and get to safety.
Once you get 2-3 kills until level 8 and you have got at least one B.F.Sword and Zeal (start to build Bloodthirster and Phantom dancer at the same time for maximum effectiveness even before you buy them) say hello to midgame.

Mid Game

In this part of the game you won't be as good as you hope and you might not get kills at all. Your basic goal is to gather as much gold as possible, even by farming jungle minions if necessary, to get your Infinity Edge before Late Game starts.
To do that, you must do two things: farm kills and push turrets. Especially the second part is important, since the first one won't be as easy if you are playing ranked. Try to keep a defencive stance and not attract too much attention. Push a lane, then switch throught the jungle to another. You can farm the jungle minions in the way and try to get blue and red buffs and you will benefit greatly from them, but be carefull: when your enemies see you got the buffs you will become a nice tempting target for gangs, so try to stay with your team after that.
Once you've built phantom dancer and Infinity EDge, you're good to start Late Game Domination.

Late Game

Since you have almost completed your item build, make sure you close any gaps in it. Be flexible, for example, if encountering a high armored tank, quickly buy black cleaver, or if the enemy team focuses you, buy Frozen Mallet, and so on. This is your time to prevail. Until the game comes to an end you will be leading your team to large teamfights and kicking butts like flies. Your damage will be too high for any carry to sustain and even tanks will try to keep you away from them.
Don't relly much on your ultimate any more. Your normal attacks will do the job before any enemy manages to run away. Still be carefull when channeling it and do not overestimate your powers. A well-geared Tryndamere can easily kill you with his endless rage and ruin your team's attack.
IF you are playing against stealth players(especially Evelynn) make sure you buy Oracle's Elixir. Your tank might have it too, but in teamfights it's not a good idea to stay close to him, so you need to be able to see them for your self. One stun is enough to bring you down in less than 5 seconds, and then your team won't be able to help you most of the time.
Finally, never let your team push the turrets alone. Your damage can help your team to bring down turrets in seconds and get in the enemy team's castle very easily and quickly.

Notes:

I will be uploading a Caitlyn Video Commentary soon and I will attach it in my guide so please keep checking it for a few days.

I haven't had a bad score with caitlyn ever since I finalized this build so I guarantee its effectiveness. Thank you for your time reading this guide and please dont forget to vote and comment.

League of Legends is a team based, real time strategy game set in a mythical world of swords & magic where epic battles decide the fate of mystical nations. Game players take on the role of a Summoner who conjures and controls champions to fight for them at the Institute of War. During game play champions gain experience and items to enhance their skills and abilities. How players develop and play their champions can be the difference between a crushing defeat or a glorious victory!